Happy Birthday Grace!

Couldn't resist putting up this little gem that Sterling sent to his beloved "Grem" on her birthday :)  Enjoy!

Love these two!

Families are Forever

 Wow, this has been a good week! I finally got to teach a real lesson to a real investigator! It was amazing! You've seen a picture of him, but I'm not  really supposed to tell you his name:) I was on splits with the zone leader, elder Hadlock, when we taught him. It was a very spirit lead lesson. We were originally just going to RPLA (read ponder liken apply) a scripture about baptism with him, but it quickly jumped the tracks to a full-blown lesson on feeling and receiving revelation from the Spirit, and temples. It was really good. This man is looking and waiting for a huge answer, a huge feeling, a huge event, to tell him of the truthfulness of what he's learning. His is a desire that I can relate to. Sometimes I feel like a glutton for punishment because I always expect this crazy feeling of knowledge crashing into my brain, but it never turns out that way. Or at least it rarely turns out that way. Feeling the spirit is something that we are always doing in a very small way. In a way that we often don't realize. He just never really realizes that he is feeling the Spirit. I had a similar experience when I visited the temple while in the MTC. I think I wrote an email about it!

I feel like my love for the Japanese people has grown a lot this week. My companion and I were talking to a bunch of high schoolers yesterday when I glanced up and saw three people walking by. It was a quick look, but what I saw I can still vividly see. Two of the three were pretty messy, scary-looking people. A guy with piercings all over his face, a dark thrasher looking shirt with dark pants and dark hair. He was just a dark, scary looking guy that I would unconsciously avoid. He was probably mid to late 20s. The woman, whose hand he was holding, looked the same: kind of scary, piercings and tattoos, but I also noticed a glimmering ring on her left ring finger, the same hand that was clasping her husbands hand. Strapped to the husband's shoulders and hanging in front of his chest was one of those baby sacks, and in it was a ridiculously adorable Nihonjin baby girl, resting her head on her fathers chest, fast asleep. What a picture right? The beauty of that scene struck me. Here were these two, by typical standards, kind of unsavory people; people you wouldn't think would have their life together; people that would fit well into unsavory areas. Two people that are young, but two people that are in love, and together have a child. Wow! That is such a rare thing right? Families are scary, families are hard, families are on a downward slope. More and more people are opting out of having families. But here are these three, against great odds, ganbaru-ing it (ganbaru is a verb the means to go for it, to try your best, to hope. It sometimes takes on the connotation of a leap of faith or acting in hope). What an incredible thing! The gospel can take their uncertain lives and fill them with confidence and knowledge. The gospel can take their shaky, new, little family and turn it into a strong eternal one: a family with the potential to live together forever in pure and complete happiness. What a great thing!

We were teaching another man yesterday. He is 82 and his memory is a little shaky. He's been investigating for a long time now. Something that characterizes him is his love of photographs. He always says seeing is believing. So he puts a lot of significance in pictures and mementos and proof. It's funny because he has so much faith but he still likes that proof. So I decided to show him my family pictures (it's really easy to do because it is just on our iPads). I got to take him through 30 or so pictures from tons of different times in our lives. This was a perfect activity for him because he loves these pictures. At the end I have one of the last pictures that we have that has all five of us in it. We are standing I front of some sort of barn in the middle of Grapevine. When he saw this picture he commented on how happy we look and said that in all the pictures he saw, he noticed a genuine joy. At that moment I got to bear my testimony of temples and family and I got to tell him about eternal families. I told him that we are happy because we know that we can all be together again forever. I told him how not long after that picture was taken my brother left on his mission for two years, and then, before he got back, I left on my mission. I told him how we won't be able to all be together for about four years. That's a hard thing! I yearn to be with my family every single day. I love them so much. But it's also easy because I know that one day we will all be together again. Come what may, we will be together again, and someday we will never have to leave. We all felt the Spirit so strongly testifying of that truth. It was such an amazing feeling and I could tell that he was feeling it. Afterwards he asked me if I would print a copy of that family picture and give it to him so that he can add it to his collection. He's a good man! He posed for a picture, holding my iPad with that picture showing, that I'll send along with a couple others.

These two experiences have strengthened my testimony so much this week. I love the gospel and I love that we will be able to be together with our families forever. That is such a huge blessing. I love you all and hope you're doing well!

Love,
Siebach 長老

I'm All Shook Up

Getting ready to head out to work

Holy cow! We are starting the fifth week of my first transfer! Holy cow!!!! That's so crazy!!!! I only get 16 of those transfers! In three days (the 28th) I will have been on my mission for 3 months. That is 1/8th over. That's crazy. That's scary. Time moves so quickly here! 

So this past week has been pretty good. It certainly helps to start it with the temple! I got to talk to a lot of people about religion and the church and had some really spiritual experiences. One guy, his name is Elvis, he's from Ghana, and he's super cool. We have talked to him a couple times. He really wants to learn Japanese and he really wants to go to church because he hasn't found one here in Japan yet. Naturally I invited him and was able to get his contact info! I'm super excited to finally have an investigator coming to church! We will have to translate a lot for him but I think he will like it, and then eventually we will have to turn him over to an English ward, but that's ok. Thank goodness for Elvis! We talk and talk with so many people, have a great time with them, we feel the spirit, they feel the spirit, and when you ask if you can meet up with them again, or offer a Book of Mormon, or ask for contact information, so often they will clam up and leave. It's amazing how difficult it can be! Just gotta keep trying, keep planting seeds, and pray that somewhere down the road something in their heart will change. That may be the biggest trial of my faith so far. It's so hard to watch people walk away and think that I've done what I can and just have to leave it in the Lords hands.

I was thinking about a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants during my personal study time the other day:
 
Therefore, let the morrow take thought for the things of itself. Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. (D&C 84:84-85)

We heard this scripture a lot in the MTC as we talked about the importance of scriptures and 'treasuring them up in your mind". I think about that scripture often, especially during study time. So naturally I was thinking about it, when I was suddenly reminded of another scripture about knowledge:

...It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. (Alma 12:9-10)

I get from this that I need to really read and study scriptures as much as I can. Then, when I get opportunities to teach or "mete" out the gospel, the words I need to say will come to my memory

I can find at least two take aways from these scriptures. Number one is obvious: study the scriptures and the gospel and "treasure up" the words so I can teach. And since I have been blessed to have the gospel in my life, I also have a responsibility to teach it. The second take away is that if I want to receive more knowledge I have to give more "heed" and "diligence" to God, so that is my plan.

New Facebook profile pic

I love you all and hope you are doing well! I love to get your emails--they are such a strength to me! 
- Siebach 長老

P.s. I get to have a temple p-day once a transfer!

Being an Example of the Believers

Hello hello hello!

I am so sorry that I am late sending this! Last week I forgot to mention that we had temple p-day this week and I would be emailing late! I am sorry if I caused any worry (Mom, don't you fret ;)).

Here's what an "empty" train looks like!

Home sweet home! (our old neighborhood train stop)

So this last week has been pretty great! We got a lot of good contacts and a lot of good potential investigators. We still don't have any real investigators, but a couple who are close! I tell you what! It is so hard to return to the apartment with what seems like very little to show for our day. Contacting/finding is fun because we get to talk to a lot of people but so very few (none so far) turn into anything more than a conversation or two. It's tough but it will get better. Even now we are beginning to see some of the seeds we have planted grow. Last week 5 separate people walked up to me while I was passing out 英会話 fliers (English class). They had no interest in the class (they all spoke pretty good English) but were interested in what I was doing. They said something along the lines of "I see you here a lot passing out fliers, and even though most people aren't very interested, you are always happy and smiling. Why?" I was able to tell them about my purpose as a missionary and why I'm even here in Japan. It gave me an opportunity to testify a little bit. They were all really neat experiences and reminded me of the
importance of being an example at all times. People really are watching you. Whether you think you blend in or not, they notice. I have noticed in my short life ;) that when I do my best to be a disciple of Christ, people see that I am different and want to know more. It's so important to be an "example of the believers".

Let's see.... What else can I tell you about this week... Church was really fun. I don't understand a word that they say, but somehow it's still fun (haha!).  The members are so friendly and always help the missionaries in any way that they can. Plus, I get to play with the babies and Japanese babies are the cutest in the world!

Tokyo temple with chapel
annex in the foreground

Today we went to the Tokyo temple, which is annexed to the chapel where I was baptized way back in 2003! Awesome right? The temple was a super cool experience. It was all in Japanese with an option to have a headset with English running through it. I grabbed one but ended up not using it most of the time. It was really neat to hear everything in Japanese, and even though most of it was over my head I could guess at what was being said. After the temple session I read through my patriarchal blessing. It was such an amazing experience to read it in such a holy place. I noticed parts of my blessing that I had never noticed before, I was able to gain insight on how it relates to my life now, as a missionary in a foreign land. It helped me remember promises that were given. I could really feel the Lord's love for me, as well as for the 40 other missionaries packed into that room! Fantastic experience!

Since coming to Japan I have seen and felt how much the Lord loves all of his children. Because of that love he has given us so very much. He has given is the opportunity to come to this earth and learn so much. He has given us the opportunity to have families, and for those families to be eternal. He has given us temples. He's given us the gospel. He's given us the scriptures. There are so many more blessings too. He truly does love us! That's just something that I have been thinking about today!

Anyways, I love you guys and hope you're doing well!

- Siebach 長老

I Am Not Ashamed

After a long, hard bike ride to this gorgeous park

Wow! I am so sorry but I have very little time today! Our p-day seems to be more packed than our usual days! (Ha!--not really!). 

So today was really cool! Last Monday, a week ago today, I met a man named Andy. He is 66 years old, loves tennis and skiing, and speaks some English. We set up a time to go play some tennis today! So he reserved an indoor court. When we showed up, we (all of us, including Andy and his brother--more on him later) were surprised to see that the court was about half the width of a normal court. That was a little bit of a disappointment, but no problem. We met his brother there for the first time. He is 83 years old and really good at tennis! We played for about an hour. I was on Andy's brother's team and my companion was with Andy. It was super fun and we had a great time! Afterwards Andy and his brother invited us to go get coffee with them at the eki (train station). We said we
would love to go and on the way there shared with them what we believe about coffee and the word of wisdom. We chatted for a while. Got to know each other and shared some of our beliefs with them and they shared some of theirs. We were able to find common ground in a lot of things. In all I think we were able to build a strong relationship of trust and strengthen bridges towards sharing more of the gospel with them! I am still just shocked that an 83 year old Nihon-jin was whaling on those tennis balls so well! Incredible!

Street scene in Machida

Something that I have noticed since coming here, and remember from when we lived here, is that the Japanese culture is very closed, very private, and very polite. The people seem so hard to get to know. This is all a product of the extremely close proximity in which they live. There is so little privacy here that they make their own privacy by drawing in on themselves. It is so very different to the culture in America. But when you get through that shell, the Japanese people are the most wonderful, kind, and thoughtful people ever! The Spirit is perfect for getting through that shell. If we have the Spirit with us when we are speaking to people we will always be able to get through to them. No matter the walls they have put up or the culture they come from. It is so important! And all of us can have that Spirit, and we get it by being worthy of it. We study the scriptures and pray a lot. We go to church and listen to the little urgings of the Spirit. That's when I have the spirit with me, and only then can I share this good news.

Posing with my comp, my zone leader, Sato-san, and my district leader

I am so grateful to be here and to serve these wonderful people and to have come to know these truths for myself. All my life people have told me it is important to read, pray, and go to church. I am only now realizing the truth in those words. So I challenge you to try it. Try it for a week or a month and see the difference it can make in your life. My mission president likes to talk about levels of consecration, and doing those things more will certainly raise you up. I believe that's true!

Nice old orange Porsche for Dad:)

Ok my spiritual thought comes from Paul! What a wonderful man. He was so amazing and I just love reading his words. He has such faith. He says in Romans:

"...I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..."

I love that! He is not ashamed! For me it is easy to think "Well same here. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Here I am proclaiming it 24/7!" And I don't think that I ashamed, but sometimes I might act like I am. Sometimes I let that man pass me without sharing something with him. I rationalize my way out of talking to him about the gospel: "Oh he is
turned away from me slightly," "He doesn't look like the church-y type," "He's walking quickly so he's in a hurry"... Things like this go through my mind and have been going through my mind in relation to my friends and acquaintances for years now. There always seems to be an excuse. Turns out I am regularly ashamed of the gospel. Or at least I act like I am. I want to be like Paul. I want to be like Moroni and Ammon and Alma. I want to be bold in the way I proclaim the gospel. If I truly believe in it, and that it is infinitely important to everyone, my
reservations should never come in the way of their salvation. That's just something that I have realized recently and something that I plan to improve on. 

Anyways, my companion is beckoning at the door--gotta go! I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

-Siebach 長老